Birabongse Bhanudej

Birabongse Bhanudej Prince of Siam (later Thailand) Birabongse in 1944 Born (1914-07-15)15 July 1914 Grand Palace, Bangkok, Thailand Died Barons Court Stn., London, UK Spouse Ceril Heycock (1st) (1938–1949) Chelita Hovard (1951–1956) Salika Kalantananda (1957) Arunee Chuladakoson (1959–1964) Chuanchom Chaiyananda (1967–1980) Ceril Heycock (2nd) (1983–1985) Issue Biradej Bhanubandh Rabibara Bhanubandh Biranubongse Bhanubandh Full name  – His Serene Highness Prince (Mom Chao)     Birabongse Bhanudej Bhanubandh     (15 July 1914 – 8 November 1927)  – His Highness Prince Birabongse Bhanudej     (8 November 1927 – 23 December 1985) House House of Bhanubandh Chakri Dynasty Father Prince Bhanurangsi Savangwongse, the Prince Bhanubandhubongse Voradej Mother Mom Lek Bhanubandh na Ayudhya (née Yongchaiyudh) Formula One World Championship career Nationality Thai Active years 1950 – 1954 Teams Enrico Platé, Gordini, Connaught, Maserati, Scuderia Milano Entries 19 Championships 0 Wins 0 Podiums 0 Career points 8 Pole positions 0 Fastest laps 0 First entry 1950 British Grand Prix Last entry 1954 Spanish Grand Prix 24 Hours of Le Mans career Participating years 1939, 1954 Teams Raymond Sommer Aston Martin Best finish DNF (1939, 1954) Class wins 0 Olympic medal record Sailing Representing Thailand 12th, 1956 Melbourne, Star 19th, 1960 Rome, Star 22nd, 1964 Tokyo, Dragon 21st, 1972 Munich, Tempest

Prince Birabongse Bhanudej Bhanubandh (born 15 July 1914 in Bangkok, Thailand; died 23 December 1985 in Barons Court Station, London), better known as Prince Bira of Siam (now Thailand) or by his nom de course B. Bira, was the only Thai racecar driver to race in Formula One. He raced in Formula One and Grand Prix races for the Maserati, Gordini, and Connaught teams, among others. He also was an Olympic sailor in the Melbourne Olympics, 1956 in the Star, Rome Olympics, 1960 in the Star, Tokyo Olympics, 1964 in the Dragon and the Munich Olympics, 1972 in the Tempest. In the 1960 Games he competed against another former Formula One driver, Roberto Mieres, who finished 17th and ahead of the prince in 19th. Birabongse was the only Southeast Asian driver in Formula One until Malaysia's Alex Yoong joined Minardi in 2001. Prince Bira was not only a racing driver, he was also an excellent pilot of gliders and powered aircraft. In 1952 he flew the remarkable distance from London to Bangkok with his own twin engine Miles Gemini aircraft.

Early life

Prince Birabongse's parents were Prince Bhanurangsi Savangwongse and his second wife. Birabongse's paternal grandfather was King Mongkut, loosely portrayed in the Hollywood movies The King and I and Anna and the King. His mother died when Prince Birabongse was only four years old. Birabongse was sent to Europe in 1927 to complete his education in England at Eton College, where he joined one of his own nephews, a grandchild of his father through his first marriage. While he was at Eton Bira's father died, leaving him an orphan. He was placed under the care of his cousin, Prince Chula Chakrabongse, who ultimately became Prince Bira's legal guardian. On leaving Eton at age 18, in early 1933, Prince Bira moved in with Prince Chula in London, while he decided on his future.

Prince Birabongse had been registered to attend Trinity College, Cambridge, but on leaving school had not yet passed the Cambridge University entrance examination. Initially, Prince Chula hired a tutor for Prince Bira, to better prepare him for the exam, but Prince Bira changed his mind and expressed a desire to learn sculpture rather than attend university. Prince Chula approached leading sculptor Charles Wheeler, and Wheeler took Prince Bira on as a pupil within his studio. Although Prince Bira showed some talent as a sculptor, in Wheeler's opinion he needed to learn to draw, and so in the autumn of 1934 Prince Bira enrolled at the Byam Shaw School of Art. Prince Birabongse did not attend the Byam Shaw school for very long, but while there he became friendly with a fellow student, Ceril Heycock, and he began courting her in earnest only a few weeks later. However, both Prince Chula and her parents placed severe limitations on their relationship, and it was not until 1938 that they were able to marry.

Racing career pre-World War II

Bira first raced with his cousin Prince Chula's team, White Mouse Racing, driving a Riley Imp at Brooklands in 1935. In this car Bira established the national motor racing colours of Siam: pale blue with yellow. He later lived near Geneva, Switzerland, and in the south of France.

Later in 1935 Prince Chula gave him one of the new ERA voiturette racing cars – R2B, which was nicknamed Romulus. Bira finished second in his first ever race in Romulus, despite needing to stop for repairs. The remaining races of the season saw Bira consistently placing amongst the more powerful Grands Prix vehicles, with another second place, and fifth at the Donington Grand Prix.

For 1936 the princes decided that the previous season's results merited a second ERA. They purchased chassis R5B (which Bira named Remus) to use in British events and retained Romulus for international races. Chula also purchased a Maserati 8CM to complete the White Mouse roster. Bira's expertise behind the wheel earned him the Coupe de Prince Rainier at Monte Carlo. Bira won a further four races in the ERAs that season, and took the Grand Prix Maserati to 5th at Donington and 3rd at Brooklands. This was the high point for Bira and the White Mouse team.

Following Dick Seaman's move to Mercedes for 1937, the Thais purchased his Grand Prix Delage and all of its spare parts, along with a second Delage. Despite several upgrades, and hiring experienced race engineer and future Jaguar team manager Lofty England, the cars underperformed, and on many occasions Bira raced in the older and by now substantially inferior ERAs. In addition, the money spent on the Delage upgrades had sapped the resources of the team and corners were being cut in the ERA's race preparations. Later in the year White Mouse did invest in a newer C-Type ERA, chassis R12C. R12C came to be known as Hanuman, and Bira attached a large, embossed, silver badge depicting the Hindu deity after whom he had named the car. Following a major accident in 1939 Hanuman was rebuilt back to B-Type specifications, and in light of this major overhaul Bira renamed the car Hanuman II.

While Bira maintained a respectable results tally in British events, the more costly international races were largely a disaster.

Post war

After the war, Bira returned to racing with several teams. In 1951 he raced in an old 4CLT fitted with a newer V12 Osca engine. No results were obtained this year as a result of the poor performance of the car combined with a severe accident. By 1954, with some newer gear, a Maserati 250F, he won the Grand Prix des Frontières on the Chimay road circuit and then finished fourth in the 1954 French Grand Prix with his own Maserati. In January 1955, he won the New Zealand Grand Prix at Ardmore; he retired at the end of that season.

Prince Bira died of heart failure at Barons Court tube station, London, in 1985 at the age of 71. Bira Circuit, based just outside Pattaya, Thailand, is named after Prince Bira.

Development of the Thai racing colours

Prince Bira was instrumental in developing and setting the national racing colours of Thailand.

Bira's 1936 Maserati 8CM, seen in his original all blue livery with Siamese flags on the tail and the Whitemouse emblem just ahead of the cockpit opening  Bira's second ERA racing car, R5B Remus, in an intermediate livery of blue with yellow wheels only. The United Kingdom's flag is placed in the position of honour, at the right leading edge of the car's bonnet, to represent its manufacturer  Bira's third ERA, chassis R12B Hanuman II, in the final Thai racing scheme of pale blue with yellow chassis rails and wheels. The Thai flag is placed in the subsidiary position, at the left leading edge of the car's bonnet, to represent the driver  B. Bira's 1954 Maserati A6GCM Inter in a looser interpretation of his racing colours. Post-WWII, and particularly outside Grand Épreuve events, national racing colour schemes were not strictly enforced  Bira driving his 1954 Maserati 250F in the 1954 French Grand Prix. The adaptations to the official racing scheme needed for post-WWII cars that lacked visible chassis rails are clearly seen: the yellow now forms a broad band around the lower part of the car's bodywork Bira driving his 1954 Maserati 250F in the 1954 French Grand Prix. The adaptations to the official racing scheme needed for post-WWII cars that lacked visible chassis rails are clearly seen: the yellow now forms a broad band around the lower part of the car's bodywork

Racing record

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	WDC	Points
1950	Enrico Platé	Maserati 4CLT/48	Maserati Straight-4 s	GBR Ret	MON 5	500	SUI 4	BEL	FRA	ITA Ret			8th	5
1951	Ecurie Siam	Maserati 4CLT/48	Maserati Straight-4	SUI	500	BEL	FRA DNA	GBR	GER DNA	ITA			NC	0
			OSCA V12								ESP Ret
1952	Equipe Gordini	Gordini Type 15	Gordini Straight-4 s	SUI Ret	500	BEL 10							NC	0
		Gordini Type 16	Gordini Straight-6				FRA Ret	GBR 11	GER	NED	ITA
1953	Connaught Engineering	Connaught Type A	Lea-Francis Straight-4	ARG	500	NED	BEL	FRA Ret	GBR 7	GER Ret	SUI		NC	0
	Scuderia Milano	Maserati A6GCM	Maserati Straight-6									ITA 11
1954	Officine Alfieri Maserati	Maserati A6GCM	Maserati Straight-6	ARG 7	500								17th	3
	"B. Bira"	Maserati 250F	Maserati Straight-6			BEL 6	FRA 4	GBR Ret	GER Ret	SUI	ITA	ESP 9
1955	"B. Bira"	Maserati 250F	Maserati Straight-6	ARG	MON	500	BEL DNA	NED	GBR	ITA			NC	0

Non-Championship Formula One results

(key)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40
1950	Enrico Platé	Maserati 4CLT/48	Maserati Straight-4 s	PAU	RIC Ret	SRM Ret	PAR	EMP Ret	BAR Ret	JER Ret	ALB Ret	NED 5	NAT Ret	NOT	ULS	PES Ret	STT	INT	GOO 2	PEN Ret
1951	"B. Bira"	Maserati 4CLT/48	OSCA V12	SYR Ret	PAU	RIC 1	SRM Ret	BOR 4	INT 17	PAR	ULS DNA	SCO	NED	ALB	PES	BAR	GOO
1952	Equipe Gordini	Gordini Type 15	Gordini Straight-4 s	RIO	SYR	VAL	AUS	RIC	LAV	PAU WD	IBS	MAR 2	AST	INT 6	ELA	NAP	EIF	PAR Ret	AGP NC	FRO	ULS Ret	MOZ	LAC 5	WEC	MAR 4	SAB 4	CEA	DMT	COM	NAT	BAU	MOD	CAD	SKA	MAD	AVU	JOE	NEW	RIO
1953	Scuderia Milano	Maserati A6GCM	Maserati Straight-6	SYR	PAU	LAV	AST	KMS	INT 4	ELA	NAP	ULS	WIN	COR	FRO Ret	SNE	EIF 11	AGP	COU	PGG	WEC	MID	ROU DNA	HAL	CRY	AVU Ret	USA	LAC	DRE	BRI	MCM	SAB	NEW	CAD	SAC	RED	SKA	LON	MOD	MAD	BER	JOE	CUR
1954	Officine Alfieri Maserati	Maserati A6GCM	Maserati Straight-6	RIO	NZM	BUE	SYR DNS	PAU	LAV	BOR Ret	INT Ret	BAR 6	CUR	ROM	FRO 1	COM	BAF	CRY	ROU 2	CEA 4	AUG	COM	OUL	RED	PES 2	SAC	JOE	CAD	GBE	GOO	DAI

References

• Bira, the Grand Prix driver text: Autocourse site
• Malcolm Campbell and Prince Bira photo: The Brooklands Society site
• Bira at Brooklands text: The Brooklands Society site
• pre-war pictures many photos: The Brooklands Society site
• His personal life text.
• A brief biography
• Snellman, L. 2000. The Prince and I, 8W.
• Prince Bira at The Crittenden Automotive Library, full F1 race-by-race statistics
• Bira International Circuit
• "Blue Wings to Bangkok" written by Prince Bira 1953